The New Plymouth Pilgrims are packing up and heading out on the road for their first away game of the season: they will take on the Payette Pirates at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in New Plymouth's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs in their last five contests.
New Plymouth is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Garden Valley 19-2 on Wednesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Pilgrims with their most commanding win of the season.
Makiah Weideman and LeeAnn Hartzell were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Weideman pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Hartzell pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Furthermore, Weideman didn't allow a single walk, the first time she has blanked an opponent since back in May of 2024. At the plate, Weideman went 3-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI, while Hartzell scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Averi Albisu was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. She also put up a home run, which was her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Elsea Shaw, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
New Plymouth was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .379 or higher in five consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Payette ultimately got the result they hoped for on Monday. They beat Marsing by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 10-8. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Pirates.
The team relied heavily on Maddy Brown, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-4. Lucia Walker was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
The victory got Payette back to even at 3-3. As for New Plymouth, their record is now 6-2.
Everything went New Plymouth's way against Payette in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, as New Plymouth made off with a 19-2 win. Will New Plymouth repeat their success, or does Payette has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
